With the increased availability of different smart devices that access the internet, many new applications have been developed that leverage internet connectivity. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a phrase given for the interconnection of computing devices scattered around the globe within the existing internet infrastructure. IoT devices may be embedded in a variety of products, such as home appliances, manufacturing devices, printers, automobiles, thermostats, smart traffic lights, environmental sensors, etc.
Due to the large volume of data generated across numerous IoT devices, it may be helpful to aggregate the generated data in a cloud service. For example, data from many different IoT devices may be processed by a cloud service using data processing techniques such as MapReduce, which is a framework that can be used in big data analysis. However, the cost associated with transferring huge volumes of data to a centralized cloud service is high, both in terms of bandwidth used and amount of time required. Furthermore, in some cases it may be difficult if not impossible to send a large volume of data to the cloud when internet access is limited (e.g., due to a slow or intermittent connection) or is prohibited (e.g., due to regulatory constraints).
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.